2015 UEFA Champions League Final
| team1score = 1 | team2 = Barcelona | team2association = | team2score = 3 | details = | date = 6 June 2015 | stadium = Olympic Stadium | city = Berlin | man_of_the_match1a = Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona) | referee = Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey) | attendance = 70,442 | weather = Partly cloudy 26 °C (79 °F) 49% humidity | previous = 2014 | next = 2016 }} The 2015 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League, the 60th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 23rd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. It was played at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany, on 6 June 2015, between Italian side Juventus and Spanish side Barcelona. Barcelona were the winners, beating Juventus 3–1 to gain their fifth trophy in the competition. As winners, Barcelona earned the right to play against the winners of the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League, Sevilla, in the 2015 UEFA Super Cup. They also qualified to enter the semi-finals of the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup as the UEFA representative. Venue The Olympic Stadium was announced as the venue of the final at the UEFA Executive Committee meeting on 23 May 2013. The current Olympiastadion was originally built for the 1936 Summer Olympics in the southern part of the Reichssportfeld (today Olympiapark Berlin). During World War II, the area suffered little damage. After the war, the British military occupation used the northern part of the Reichssportfeld as its headquarters until 1949. From 1951 to 2005, the Olympischer Platz had a giant antenna transmitting for all the portable radios in Berlin. Aside from its use as an Olympic stadium, the Olympiastadion has a strong footballing tradition. Historically, it is the ground of club Hertha BSC since 1963. It was also used for 3 matches in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. It hosted six matches, including the final, in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and was renovated for that reason. Since 1985, the German Cup final match is held each year at the Olympiastadion. Background This was the eighth European Cup/UEFA Champions League final for both Juventus and Barcelona. Juventus won two of their previous finals (1985, 1996) and lost five (1973, 1983, 1997, 1998, 2003), while Barcelona won four of their previous finals (1992, 2006, 2009, 2011) and lost three (1961, 1986, 1994). Barcelona also played in six Cup Winners' Cup finals (winning in 1979, 1982, 1989, 1997, and losing in 1969, 1991), while Juventus also played in one Cup Winners' Cup final (winning in 1984) and four UEFA Cup finals (winning in 1977, 1990, 1993, and losing in 1995). The two teams had previously played six times in UEFA club competitions, but never in a final. In their previous UEFA club competition meetings, Barcelona won 2–1 on aggregate in the 1985–86 European Cup quarter-finals and 3–2 on aggregate in the 1990–91 European Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals, while Juventus won 3–2 on aggregate in the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. They also played in the 1952 Latin Cup semi-finals, won by Barcelona 4–2, and the 1970–71 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup second round, won by Juventus 4–2 on aggregate. Similar to the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final, both teams entered the final in the possibility of winning the treble of domestic league, domestic cup and Champions League titles. Juventus were crowned champions of the 2014–15 Serie A on 2 May, and won the 2015 Coppa Italia Final eighteen days later. Barcelona were crowned champions of the 2014–15 La Liga on 17 May, and won the 2015 Copa del Rey Final thirteen days later. While it would have been the first treble for Juventus, Barcelona had previously won the treble in 2008–09. Road to the final Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away). Pre-match Ambassador Former Germany international player Karl-Heinz Riedle, who won the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund in 1997, was named as the ambassador for the final. Logo UEFA unveiled the visual identity of the final on 29 August 2014. It blends the stadium with the city's Brandenburg Gate. Ticketing With a stadium capacity of 70,500, a total amount of 46,000 tickets were available to fans and the general public, with the two finalist teams receiving 20,000 tickets each and with 6,000 tickets being available for sale to fans worldwide via UEFA.com from 5 to 23 March 2015 in four price categories: €390, €280, €160, and €70. The rest of 24,500 tickets were allocated to sponsors and officials. Related events The 2015 UEFA Women's Champions League Final will be held on 14 May 2015 at the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark in Berlin. Unlike recent years, in which the Women's Champions League final was held in the same week as the men's Champions League final, the two matches will be separated by almost a month, as the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup starts in early June. The annual UEFA Champions Festival was held between 4–7 June 2015 in the streets around Brandenburg Gate. Match Officials In May 2015, the officials were chosen for the final by UEFA, led by Turkish referee Cüneyt Çakır. His compatriots Bahattin Duran and Tarık Ongun were chosen as assistant referees, and fellow Turks Hüseyin Göçek and Barış Şimşek the additional assistants, with Mustafa Emre Eyisoy the reserve assistant. Jonas Eriksson, of Sweden, was chosen as fourth official. Çakır is a UEFA elite referee, and has refereed at UEFA Euro 2012 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup, as well as the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup Final. Team selection Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini was ruled out of the final with a calf injury picked up in training on 3 June. Barcelona had no injury concerns before the final. Barcelona's Luis Suárez was previously involved in two controversies with players in the Juventus squad: in 2012, he was found guilty by an FA commission of using racially insulting language towards Patrice Evra in a game between their respective former clubs Liverpool and Manchester United, and at the 2014 FIFA World Cup he escaped punishment for biting Chiellini but was punished retrospectively. Evra stated that he would shake Suárez's hand before the game, having refused to in a previous game. Summary In the second minute, Barcelona's Javier Mascherano conceded a corner kick, which Juventus aimed at Evra but Barcelona cleared it. However two minutes later, Jordi Alba made a run on Barcelona's left, passing to Neymar and then Andrés Iniesta who set up Ivan Rakitić to score the first goal from close range. Rakitić's goal was Barcelona's fastest goal in a Champions League Final, and the fourth fastest in Champions League Final overall. In the 11th minute, Arturo Vidal of Juventus received the first yellow card for fouling Sergio Busquets. At half time, Barcelona led 1–0. Ten minutes into the second half, Juventus equalised: Claudio Marchisio back-heeled the ball to right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner, who set up Carlos Tevez. Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen blocked the shot from Tevez, but Álvaro Morata equalised by putting the rebound into the net. In the 67th minute, Juventus appealed for a penalty when Paul Pogba went down in the area when challenged by Dani Alves, but the referee did not give it. Two minutes later, Barcelona got back into the lead when Lionel Messi shot from the edge of the area, Gianluigi Buffon blocked it and Suárez put in the rebound. Soon after, Neymar put the ball into the net from Alba's cross, but it was disallowed as the referee deemed that he had headed it into his own hand. In the 78th minute, Barcelona substituted Iniesta, who gave his captain's armband to Xavi, making his final appearance for Barcelona. Soon after, Juventus made three substitutions in quick succession: Vidal was replaced with Roberto Pereyra and Morata with Fernando Llorente, while Evra made way for Kingsley Coman. In added time, Barcelona made their final two changes, as Rakitić made way for Jérémy Mathieu and the limping Suárez for Pedro. In the final added minute, Alves handled the ball near the halfway line, and Juventus launched the resulting free kick towards the Barcelona goal, where it was cleared. The ensuing counter-attack ended with Neymar scoring with the final kick to make it 3–1. With the win, Barcelona became the first European club to achieve the treble twice. Their fifth European title put them joint third with Bayern Munich and Liverpool. If only the Champions League era is considered, this is their fourth title, putting their joint first with Real Madrid. On the other hand, Juventus became the first team to lose six finals: they previously shared the record with Benfica and Bayern Munich. Patrice Evra became the first player to play in four losing UEFA Champions League finals, having previously been a runner-up in 2004 (with Monaco), 2009 and 2011 (both with Manchester United). Details |score=1–3 |report=Report |team2= Barcelona |goals1=Morata |goals2=Rakitić Suárez Neymar |stadium=Olympiastadion, Berlin |attendance=70,442 |referee=Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey) }} |valign="top"| |valign="top" width="50%"| |} Statistics See also *2015 UEFA Europa League Final External links *UEFA Champions League (official website) *2015 final: Berlin 2015 Final Category:2014–15 in German football